Michi-Gama

Michigan factoids that somewhat relate to me (if you squint your eyes and tilt your head and think “Yeah, these relate to Molly”):
*The painted turtle is Michigan's state reptile. – While part of the larger reptilian family, still unique in its own way.

*Michigan is the only place in the world with a floating post office. The J.W. Westcott II is the only boat in the world that delivers mail to ships while they are still underway. They have been operating for 125 years. – Kind of like me at this point in my life, just sort of floating along.

I must have miscalculated some, because I thought my day was tomorrow (which would have fit my post a bit better), but nonetheless, I will push on. I want to give a shout out to Jen and wish her a very happy 26th birthday tomorrow. Technically it IS her birthday on her side of the world. I always tease my sister and my parents saying that I’ve lived in the shadow of my older sister my entire life, especially since I was born the day after her. I am so proud and so blessed to be a part of such a wonderful family, but at times it was difficult bearing the Buyske name. I don’t know how many times I have heard, “Oh, so your [insert any other Buyske name but mine]’s sister/daughter.” Or others expecting certain things out of me because I was a Buyske and 5 others had done it before me. Fortunately, I come from a family (immediate and extended) that supports and encourages individuality. Perhaps that’s why I became a theatre major, because I wanted to do something completely different than the rest of my siblings…or maybe it was because I was used to getting so much attention from everyone else that it is permanently ingrained in my psyche.

I have had my fair share of hardships, we all have – heartache, lost jobs, dreams dashed – but I have found that probably my biggest struggle in life is trying to figure out who I am and what I want to accomplish. My goals have definitely shifted directions and some have been put on the back burner. I am nowhere near where I thought I would be just a few years ago. I mean, let’s be honest, who here actually pictured ME working in a LAW OFFICE. I’ll be the first to say, “Not I!” But every time I feel like I’m getting further and further away from my dream, I have found out that I learn something more about myself and about life. I’ve come to realize that one of the things that I have been so adamantly fighting against is something that I really should embrace – my name. For years I’ve been trying be unique enough so that others would come up to my siblings and say, “Oh your Molly’s brother/sister, right?” I have found that when I am getting to know someone I will toss out that I am a Buyske or a Moore and then quickly move on to what I feel makes me…well, me. I am starting to understand that by just saying that I AM a Buyske or I AM Moore tells a lot about me. These names let people know that I am hardworking, strong-willed, compassionate, and have a drive in me that no matter how many times someone says I can’t do something, I will keep pushing through until I either succeed, or find out that the other person was right. But having those names is definitely something to be proud of.

As my aunts and uncles get older, I start to see more and more similarities between all of them. Even though I didn’t know him, I see traits passed on from Grandpa John mixed with those that Grandma gave them. I hope that as I grow older others can see the traits I gained from not only my parents, but from my grandparents as well. I have to say, we do have one kick ass Grandma. Over the years I have gone on and on about my performance dreams and Grandma has always been there to support me. I recently gave her a DVD of my one-woman show to watch and I got such a WONDERFUL card in the mail from her telling me how talented I was and how proud of me she was. It’s definitely a comfort to know that I have the support of so many of my family members, especially when I tell others that I got my degree in theatre and they look at me and just go, “Huh.” Or when I was in college and would tell people what I was majoring in and they would say, “So do you have a 2nd major?” It’s nice to know that no one in this family asked me what my 2nd major was.

I’m going to wrap up this novel on a few random, but lighthearted, thoughts. First off, it seems that I didn’t get ALL the Buyske or Moore traits passed on to me – like professional conduct. Working in a law office has opened my eyes to a number of things, particularly that lawyers actually take being a lawyer seriously. Who’d of thunk?! I try and be professional, but it’s just not in my DNA. I decided to liven up the office a bit by dressing like the lawyers and staff on Fridays. I’ve been doing it for the last 12 weeks and today is my final day. One will usually find me cracking jokes, finding ways to stay awake while reading a brief, or perhaps even dancing on a desk when I find out that my jury duty has been cancelled because the case was settle out of court (I got a few strange looks for that one). Second, if you haven’t read Tina Fey’s “Bossypants” book you should. Right now. Seriously. Go to Barnes and Noble, Amazon, download it to your Kindle, I don’t care. Just get your hands on it. An awesome outlook on life that will keep you laughing and teach you a few things while you’re at it. It has given me some new life direction. Chicago, here I come! Maybe. One more Michi-gama (Native word for “large lake”) factoid: The Indian River is the home of the largest crucifix in the world. It is called the ‘Cross in the Woods’.